Skin protector

ABSTRACT

Applicant&#39;s skin protector seats between an article of clothing and a person&#39;s body to block a fastener on the clothing that touches or disturbs a person&#39;s skin under the clothing. One side of the protector has a fastener to attach to a mating fastener on the clothes. The protector creates a distance between the fastener on the clothing and the person.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The specification discloses a protector between the inside of clothing and the skin primarily for tactile-sensitive children, but could be used for adults as well.

2. General Background and State of the Art

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) primarily affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have difficulty controlling their impulses or paying attention. Many complain about textures and other things affecting their sense of touch. Pants with tight waistbands and tags on shirts can be problem. Children on the autism and dyslexic spectrums have similar tactile issues.

Fasteners on the inside of clothing, especially the inside of a pant waistband are particular problems. Many children's pants have adjustable waistbands to allow the waistband to be lengthened as the child grows. Most of these adjustable waistbands have an inside-facing button and an elastic strap fixed to the inside of the waistband. These types of waistbands usually have two sets of button-strap arrangements on both sides of the waist. Each strap has spaced-apart button holes. By attaching each button to the proper button hole through the strap, the pant waistband can be properly sized.

For children with tactile sensitivities, the button and the elastic strap can be unbearably uncomfortable and overwhelmingly distracting.

Some persons with ADHD like to touch different tactile objects. To satisfy this desire, soft Velcro® strips can be attached to the underside of desks so the child can rub the Velcro.

SUMMARY

Applicant's skin protector seats between an article of clothing and a person's body. It can be a one-piece cushion of thick material or a two-piece cushion with one or both sides being soft material. A button hole or other attachment on one side attaches the cushion to a button or other fastener on the article of clothing so soft material faces away from the button toward the person's skin. The cushion blocks the fastener from touching or acting against the person's skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially cutaway view of applicant's skin protector on a pair of pants.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of applicant's skin protector on a pair of pants showing the adjusting strap of the pants.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of applicant's skin protector on a pair of pants.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of applicant's skin protector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Applicant's skin protector comprises a cushion 10. See FIGS. 2 and 4. The cushion has two sides of soft material, a front or first side 12 and a rear or second side 14. The two sides are attached along their top 16, bottom 18 and side edges 20 and 22. The sides or top and bottom may fold over each other without separately attaching them. An outside piece along the outside of the first and second sides may space the sides apart. See FIG. 4. The material may be soft fabric such as terry cloth or fleece, but other soft fabrics or soft materials could be used. A thin layer of stuffing or foam 24 (FIG. 4) between the first and second sides separate the sides and make the cushion better able to isolate forces from one side to the other side. Using thicker material without internal foam may accomplish comparable results.

Front or first side 12 includes a closure, which may be a button hole 30 (FIG. 4). The rear side preferably has no closure; its material is uninterrupted. The button hole may mount at the center of the first side, or, as FIG. 4 shows, it is closer to top 16 than bottom 18.

Conventional pants 40 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) include waistband 42, pockets 44 and 46 on one side (the pants may have other pockets), loop 48, fly 50 and top closure 52. Shorts have similar parts, and there are many variations for the parts. For example, buttons, a zipper, Velcro or other fastener may close the fly. Pockets can vary considerably in position and number. Many children's pants have no belt loops because they rely on elastic waistbands to hold them against the child's waist.

As children grow, they often need a larger waist for their pants. Many pants, therefore, have an adjustable waist. The adjustment may include a strap 60 with spaced holes 62 (FIG. 2). Instead of holes, the strap may have a series of fasteners. The strap can be part of the elastic waist of the pants, or the strap could be inelastic and be attached to the elastic waist or to other parts of the waistband.

Button 70 (FIG. 2) attaches through one of the button holes 62 in strap 60. Instead of button through a hole, mating fasteners could be used. The parent or other supervisor chooses the correct hole 62 for proper fit. If the pants have another strap-button-button hole on the other side of the waist, that is adjusted too. To make the pant waist larger as the child grows, the button is removed from its present hole and attached to the adjacent hole closer to end 64 of the strap.

Whatever hole 62 in strap 60 button 70 attaches, the button can apply a force to the child. If the child's shirt 80 (FIGS. 1 and 3) is tucked into the pants, the shirt may mitigate some of the force from the button. If the shirt is not tucked, the button can touch the child's skin. Underpants may affect the button-skin contact depending of the position of the underpants.

But for a child with a tactile sensitivity, the button can cause extreme discomfort. Applicant's cushion can limit or eliminate the child sensing button 70. The button attaches to button hole 30 through the cushion's first side 12. The cushion is positioned between the pant inside waistband and the child skin or the underpants or shirt. The cushion spreads out any force from the button, and the cushion blocks the skin from sensing the button or at least decreases a child's feeling of the button.

Because the cushion's button hole 30 is not centered between the top 16 and bottom 18 of first side 12, rotating the cushion allows it to extend or not extend above the top of the waistband. See FIG. 1 where the top of the cushion is aligned with the top of the waistband. If the cushion were rotated 180° what had been the bottom would extend above the waistband.

Cushion 72 (FIG. 3) is a variation of cushion 10. Cushion 72 is taller (distance from top to bottom) so it can extend over the top of the waistband acting like a flap. Depending on the material of the portion of cushion 72 forming a flap, children may use the material to satisfy their desire to touch tactile objects.

The description is illustrative, not limiting and is for example only. Although this application shows and describes examples, those having ordinary skill in the art will find it apparent they can make changes, modifications or alterations. Many examples involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, but those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to achieve the same objectives. Acts, elements and features discussed only with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments.

“Plurality” means two or more. A “set” of items may include one or more of such items. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and similar words in the written description or the claims are open-ended, i.e., each means, “including but not limited to.” Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases regarding claims. The ordinal terms like “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims don't by themselves connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Instead, they merely are labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for the ordinal term's use). Alternatives like “or” include one or any combination of the listed items. 

1. A skin protector for seating between an article of clothing and a person's skin adjacent the article of clothing comprising: a cushion formed of soft material having a first and second side; a closure on one side of the soft material attachable to a fastener on the clothing such that when the closure is attached to the fastener, the cushion blocks the fastener from reaching the person's skin.
 2. The skin protector of claim 1 wherein the cushion is formed of at least a first and second piece of material, the first and second pieces of material being attached together
 3. The skin protector of claim 2 further comprising a filling between the first piece of material and second piece of material.
 4. The skin protector of claim 2 wherein the closure is a button hole through the first piece of material.
 5. The skin protector of claim 2 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are formed from one piece of material.
 6. The skin protector of claim 1 wherein the cushion has a top and bottom corresponding to the top and bottom of the article of clothing and wherein the closure is position so the top of the skin protector extends above the top of the article of clothing.
 7. The skin protector of claim 1 wherein the cushion has a top and bottom corresponding to the top and bottom of the article of clothing and wherein the closure is position so the top of the skin protector is aligned with the top of the article of clothing.
 8. A skin protector for seating between an article of clothing and a person's skin adjacent the article of clothing comprising: a cushion having a first piece of material formed of soft material and a second piece of material, the first and second pieces of material being attached together; a closure on the second piece of material attachable to a fastener on the clothing such that when the closure is attached to the fastener, the cushion blocks the fastener from reaching the person's skin.
 9. The skin protector of claim 8 further comprising a filling between the first piece of material and second piece of material.
 10. The skin protector of claim 8 wherein the closure is a button hole through the first piece of material.
 11. The skin protector of claim 8 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are formed from one piece of material. 